Austin weather: Freezing temperatures and snow chances

AUSTIN, Texas - The cold spell rolls on. 

Parts of Central Texas woke up to a second morning in a row to a freeze. 

Snow in Austin?

The next Western Low is heading this way but is slowing down. This means we will delay precipitation until Thursday into Friday morning. 

It will also lead to a better chance of rain instead of ice and snow. Most of the models are trending wetter and not too icy. 

Cold rain is expected from 8 a.m. Thursday to midnight on Friday and then some sleet and snow west of Austin between midnight and sunrise on Friday.

Chances are very low when talking about ice. 

It gets a little more interesting with the latest snow projections for Thursday night in the Hill Country on the backside of the system. Maybe 1 to 2" over the Western Hill Country. 

Not much snow expected in Austin, but we could get over an inch of rain.

Cotton Bowl weather in Dallas

While AT&T Stadium in Arlington has a roof, the weather could impact the roads before Friday night’s College Football Semifinal game between the University of Texas and Ohio State.

As of 1/7/25, Zack says the best time to travel to Dallas for the Longhorn game would be before 5 p.m. Thursday or to wait until after lunch on Friday.

Prepare home for cold weather

With the freezing temperatures, one of the biggest things you can do to protect your home is to drip your faucets.

A slight stream of water through your pipes can help prevent freezing.

If you know the faucet farthest from your water meter, it will draw water through the house. If you don't, you can focus on the faucets along your exterior walls.

You only need a trickle of water to drip, so there is water moving through the pipes consistently. Turn on both the warm and cold water.

Plumbers also suggest opening the cabinet doors under all faucets on exterior walls to allow heat to get to uninsulated pipes.

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